Game Reviews

Sky Tourist

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iOS
| Sky Tourist
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Sky Tourist
|
iOS
| Sky Tourist

Right from the get-go, Sky Tourist feels fresh. Its intriguing control method and gorgeous visuals blend together to create a puzzling sort-of-platformer that's unlike anything else on the App Store.

There are a few niggles, but that originality is usually enough to get you to push through. The bite-size levels and simple puzzling make for a memorable and engaging experience, and while it can get a little repetitive there's an awful lot here to like.

Rocket jump

The game casts you as a space tourist out to explore 75 different levels spread across three different planets. Your mode of transport is a rope strung between two rockets, one at either side of the screen.

You control these two rockets with your left and right thumbs, and the space tourist will slide along the rope as you raise and lower them separately. It's a neat system that makes what would otherwise be a pretty standard maze game a bit special.

The focus isn't on speed so much as it is on precision. You need to carefully weave your way through the outcrops and platforms that make up the alien worlds, collecting gold coins and souvenirs.

If you stretch your rope out too far it'll snap and you'll plummet to your death. It can get tangled and trapped too, so you need to be careful when you're making your way up the level and keep an eye out for escape routes.

There are simple physics puzzles to work your way through, involving pushing open gates and knocking various obstacles out of the way. Different routes through the levels hold secrets and other special boons.

A few hitches

Occasionally you'll get trapped between some gates and have to start the level again, or your rope will snap for no obvious reason. Frustrations like that do take some of the gloss off of the game, but they're infrequent enough to not hurt too much.

Sky Tourist is a clever and an enjoyable blend of styles that keeps on surprising you. It's fun, and while it won't tax either your digits or your brain too much, it offers enough interesting content to keep you playing for a long while.

Sky Tourist

A clever and unique puzzle game, Sky Tourist is well worth your attention
Score
Harry Slater
Harry Slater
Harry used to be really good at Snake on the Nokia 5110. Apparently though, digital snake wrangling isn't a proper job, so now he writes words about games instead.